Abstract
Triggered by the increasing use of the Internet, the ‘English learning boom’ and ‘English fever’ in South Korea, web advertising is used by English language institutes as one of the most popular modalities of marketing to compete in the highly competitive domestic English-language teaching market. This study examines 20 randomly selected web-advertising texts about English language institutes and programmes in South Korea. The findings of the study suggest that the concept of ‘global’ is commonly incorporated into cyber marketing materials, recurring as the main rationale for why Koreans need to study English. Native-speaker favouritism is also unequivocally present in instructional staff-related ads, highlighting the importance of learning ‘authentic’ English. This study argues that English is used not only as a means of advertising, but also the product itself, performing a dual purpose in web marketing for English language teaching in contemporary South Korea.
Introduction
Linguists do not generally discuss a business aspect of a language, but Phillipson’s assertion that English is ‘the second in importance to the British economy after North Sea Oil’ pointedly depicts the English language as highly profitable (2000, p. 90). Powerful images of the English language have generated both fear and willing acceptance by academics and non-academics alike. Most concerns have to do with the dominance of the English language affecting local languages, in the form of language shift or language death, and the widening gap between those who have access to English and those who have no access to it.
It is not an exaggeration to claim that English is now one of the hottest commodities for South Korean consumers. The idea that a language can be sold and bought, in the manner similar to canned goods off the supermarket shelf, might sound rather strange at first. However, if we extend the notion of language to include linguistic goods and services along with its associated symbolic significance in terms of prestige, social recognition and utilitarian perks such as a scholarship, a better paycheck and a promotion, it is no longer farfetched to view language as an item consumers want.
No language is a better example than English to show the relationship between language, consumer culture and the global economy. A case in point is American English, which has risen to such prominence in the twentieth century. Graddol notes that in contemporary contexts the US plays a more significant role than Britain in enabling English to influence consumer culture and cautions that ‘the future of British English will depend in part on continued, careful management of its “brand image”’ (2000, p. 57). As the word ‘brand image’ suggests, language cannot be viewed simply as a means of communication, but also a ‘brand’ that must appeal to consumers. In proposing the idea of ‘brand management’, Graddol calls for a discussion regarding ‘how Britain’s ELT providers can cooperatively prepare for the need to build and maintain the British brand and how the promotion of English language goods and services relates to the wider image of Britain as a leading-edge provider of cultural and knowledge-based products’ (2000, p. 63).
Language programmes are commonly marketed in the highly lucrative business called ‘English Language Teaching (ELT)’ and the UK and the US have competed for this market for a long time. These two nations export their varieties of English around the globe. In particular, the British Council has been active in promoting British English. In the subsection called ‘Learn English’ on the British English Council’s website, the following ‘sales pitch’ is available:
Learn English with the British Council and you’ll be learning with the world’s English experts. We’ve been teaching English for more than 75 years and have helped more than 100 million people in 100 different countries improve their English skills and build their confidence. You can learn English by taking face-to-face lessons in our teaching centres or at home via our online courses and learning tools. And we can demonstrate your progress by providing you with internationally recognised proficiency tests. Explore our unrivalled range of courses and support to meet your exact learning needs.
The US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs website has a section called ‘American English’. It is introduced as ‘a resource center for teaching and learning about American English language and culture’. Its functions are further described as follows:
This website provides a variety of engaging materials and resources for teachers’ professional development and for students in the classroom. Both teachers and students will find new ways to practice English and learn more about the United States. The Office of English Language Programs in Washington, D.C. provides academic expertise, advisory and consultative assistance, as well as materials and resources worldwide. All programs are implemented by Regional English Language Officers (RELOs) at American Embassies or Consulates. Programs and resources administered through our office include English materials, distance education programs, and teacher training workshops.
The British Council directly markets its English programmes to potential learners, whereas the US State Department’s Office of English Language Programmes is teacher-oriented, offering a variety of resources for current and future English as foreign language (EFL) teachers. Both the British Council and the US State Department are interested in promoting their own English and culture overseas, but globalization is not explicitly mentioned on their websites. However, studies on the spread of English tend to point out globalization as an outcome or an instigator. Some argue that the diffusion of English has advanced faster by globalization (see, e.g., Kawai, 2007). Others contend that English facilitates globalization. However, not many studies discuss specific marketing or advertising strategies regarding how English is promoted globally or, more interestingly, locally in a region where English is not spoken as the mother tongue. One can claim that the importance of English and its pragmatic benefits are so great that advertising is not really needed to lure buyers since consumers are already convinced. However, I argue that as the importance of English becomes greater, the English language teaching (ELT) business is turning into a ferocious market with more vendors competing with one another. Therefore, aggressive and successful advertising is needed even more to attract students and secure a profitable market share.
Among all the foreign languages taught in South Korea, English is undoubtedly in the greatest demand. English is no longer a luxury item that many desire but can live without; rather, it is an essential item without which lives can be inconvenienced to a certain degree (Lee, 2009). There are vendors and consumers in the ELT business; products and/or services are developed, priced and provided, and consumers pay for these products and services. This certainly qualifies as a sale. In promoting sales, advertising is viewed as a useful tool (Hermerén, 1999; Stern, 1996). Nielsen’s 2013 report notes that ‘globally, ad spend increased 3.2 per cent year-over-year to $557 billion’.
There is no shortage of linguistic research on English and advertising or advertising through English, but the same cannot be said about advertising ‘about’ the English language. Earlier research tends to discuss how English is utilized in different types of advertising, and what is signified by the use of English in advertising in terms of identity and product quality (see, e.g., Baumgardner, 2008; Bhatia, 1987, 1992, 2001; Bhatia & Bhargava, 2008; Cheshire & Moser, 1994; Haarmann, 1989; Hsu, 2008, 2012; Jung, 2001; Lee, 2006; Martin, 2002a, 2002b, 2006, 2008; Piller, 2000, 2001, 2003; Takashi, 1990). These studies discuss English as a symbolic means of communication in advertising, either superficial or substantial, but not necessarily as a product. The present study departs from earlier studies on the use of English in advertising in the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle (Kachru, 1992) in that it treats the English language not only as a linguistic means of marketing products and services, but also as a product and a service itself.
Although there is an implicit understanding that ELT is a business, the ‘business’ aspect of ELT has not been a main focus in linguistics (Lee, 2009). I attempt to offer a slightly different approach here essentially in an interdisciplinary spirit, combining linguistics and marketing. I treat English language programmes as main products and investigate one of the newest marketing modalities, cyber marketing, which is defined as ‘Internet-based promotion through websites, banners, and email, etc.’ (
Lee (2010) notes the significance of the Internet in consumers’ information gathering and purchasing processes in modern networked society and argues that the Internet serves as an optimal space for researchers to investigate the dynamics between language and the market. The Internet has risen as one of the most popular advertising modalities, and the industry recognizes it. For example, E-tailing, ‘the practice of selling goods and services over an electronic medium like the Internet’ (Free Encyclopedia of Ecommerce,
Data
A random keyword search using one of the most popular Internet search engines in Korea, Naver, for yengehakwon (‘English language institute’) reveals that ‘global’ is the buzz word in South Korean ELT marketing. Lee (2009) notes that discourses of globalization are incorporated into advertising texts to promote English and ELT programmes. However, these discourses differ from academic discourses, which often engage in epistemological critical debates over different approaches to globalization such as hyperglobalist, sceptic and transformationalist positions articulated in Held, McGrew, Goldblatt and Perraton (1999) and Dewey (2007). Instead, globalization in Korea is often used as a slogan in ELT advertising texts referring to ‘a state-enhancing, top-down strategic plan’ to catch up with advanced countries (Kim, 2000, p. 3). The main crux of the prevalent globalization rhetoric is that English proficiency is necessary to become ‘global’ Koreans (Lee, 2011).
Twenty randomly selected ELT institutes’ marketing strategies, particularly, in presenting mottos and promotional materials about programmes and instructors were analyzed. Similar to Lee (2009), native-speaker favouritism is prevalent in instructor-marketing materials in this study even though not all instructors are native speakers. I also compare ads about native-speaker instructors and Korean instructors who are not native speakers of English.
Discussion
Most ELT institutes advertise their programmes in Korean, but catchphrases and main copies are often in English. Two major types of programmes emerged from the random search about Korean ELT institutes: standardized test preparation courses (e.g., Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC)) and conversation-oriented classes. Although some offer both, their business focus often tends to be on just one. Each ELT institute’s specialty can be easily deduced by e-consumers if they simply look at the number and type of courses offered and the visual and linguistic prominence attached to these courses.
The strongest case in which globalization is explicitly used in ELT marketing is arguably the English Village. The English Village is a mock town designed for English immersion education within South Korea spearheaded by the Gyeonggi English Culture Foundation in an attempt to provide ordinary citizens with a space where they can be exposed to English and ‘experiential’ learning (Lee, 2011). The main homepage of Gyeonggi English Village has the following motto:
Creating Think in English! Have fun in English! The first step toward the world! One of the public relations materials, on the front page, reads: Gyeonggi English Villages are for the residents of Gyeonggi Province and the Republic of Korea to experience the English language and the cultures of English-speaking countries. It is our intent to provide strong support for the public and private English education system of Gyeonggi Province and for Korea as a whole. In addition to learning and studying the international language, we want to instill in students a better sense of their role in the Excerpt 1
Excerpt 2
The concept ‘global’ is a main focus in these texts, and English is depicted as a tool to reach the goal of ‘creating global Korean’. The world is equated with the global community, where English is discussed as a critical component. Excerpt (1) indicates that English may be learned pleasantly (“Have fun in English!”), and should be used ultimately to advance Korea’s future generations in the world. In addition, it suggests that the English language needs to be internalized enough to be used for conceptualization (“Think in English!”), not just for external communication.
The English Village has two separate websites, English and Korean, but most Internet ads by Korean ELT institutes combine Korean and English on the same website. Information content tends to be in Korean, but institute mottos and philosophies are written in English or a Korean–English hybridization. For instance, course-related information such as daily schedules, tuition, registration procedure, and enrolment perks are presented in Korean, while what each institute represents or aims to achieve is often stated in English. In several cases, messages are written in non-standard English.
Excerpt (3) is the main copy of the ELT institute called Global Language Institute. The motto appears in Korean first and the English copy is presented subsequently, but the English copy is lengthier and more elaborate. I present the Korean text first followed by its transliteration, literal translation in parenthesis, and non-literal interpretation in single quotes.
Excerpt 3
글로벌로두드리십시오! 언어가열립니다! 세계가열립니다.
(Knock with Global! Language opens! The world opens.)
‘Start with Global and you will have an eye-opening experience with English and the world will be open to you.’
The same institute presents a similar message in English (Excerpt 4).
Excerpt 4
It’ll open its door to a clean-cut vista of languages and the world competent to other ESL program in English-speaking countries, is conducted in a way that fits individual levels and needs to unique to Korea’s context.
The English text in Excerpt (4) is a verbatim quotation. It contains syntactic features that deviate from ‘native’ English. What is emphasized in the text is that they offer ESL programmes tailored to meet Koreans’ needs. This type of one-on-one customized instruction is found to be quite common in e-tailing (Lee, 2009).
In Excerpt (5), another ELT institute called English Channel advertises its ‘1:1 yengehoyhwa’ (one-on-one English conversation) as a main strength.
Excerpt 5
The expression ‘The Right Choice for English Conversation!!’ represents the institute itself as well as its individually tailored private tutoring programme. This web advertising is a direct reaction to a widely-articulated concern for a large class size and overcrowded classrooms. Improving English conversation skills would require an adequate amount of ‘natural’ communication opportunities, which is hard to achieve in high-enrolled group lessons. Thus, the expression ‘one to one’ can be a very attractive alternative for those who desire a more personal and hands-on teaching approach. That is precisely highlighted in this particular language institute’s cyber marketing, and there are many others following the same strategy.
Another common rhetoric potential consumers often encounter is the importance of English for career advancement in a highly competitive global market. One of the most frequently mentioned reasons why people generally think they should learn English is the belief that English is the most widely used language for international communication. Excerpt (6) unequivocally captures this sentiment and adds global competitiveness as one of the rationales for speaking English, featuring a typical Korean–English hybrid advertisement. In stressing the importance of English, English is used, while the institute’s specialty, personally tailored, individual needs-based programmes represented as ‘1:1’, is advertised in Korean.
Excerpt 6
Study anytime anywhere. English is the universal language. It is the most widely used medium in modern society. And for people to be
말못하는영어는가라! 원어민과 1:1 맞춤식개인지도.
Malmoshanun yengenunkala! Weneminkwa 1:1 macchwumsikkayincito
(Go away, mute English! One to one tailored instruction with a native speaker)
‘We offer solutions to useless, non-colloquial English. We offer customized individual lessons.’
The expression ‘Study anytime anywhere’ refers to computer-mediated Internet-based instruction, enabling learners to access classes at a convenient time and place to suit their schedule. This is often viewed as an attractive feature appealing to busy professionals. This advertisement also problematizes the age-old malmoshanun yenge (‘mute English’) issue, which is often attributed to reading- and grammar-oriented English classes and a lack of opportunities to practice cincca (‘authentic’) English in the Korean public-education system. This particular advertisement claims that the institute’s focus on spoken English will help learners put an end to the conundrum of not being able to communicate in English even after years of study, foregrounding the ideology of self-deprecation, the idea that Koreans ‘lack sufficient competence to use English meaningfully’ (J.S. Park, 2009, p. 26).
Different motivations for learning English are identified in second-language acquisition (SLA) research including instrumental, integrative, resultative and intrinsic (Ellis, 2001). Koreans tend to show an instrumental orientation to learning English reinforced by major corporations’ recruiting and promotion policies. The notion that being good at English opens many doors for potential employees is widely accepted, and the quest for bettering English often continues after being hired. Many ELT institutes advertise classes geared towards instrumentally motivated professionals working in international business and trade. Excerpt (7) showcases some of the essential skills required for ‘kwukcey business’ (‘international business’).
Excerpt 7
The ELT institute above advertises its programme as an outstanding choice for international business success in Korean, and some of the keywords related to business are highlighted in English. The visual image of an airplane evokes a globe-trotting businessperson involved in business transactions around the world. The name of the institute appears on the airplane, and it flies through a sky filled with words associated with international business. Prospective learners can easily infer that this institute promises to serve as a vehicle to help them reach their final destination safe and fast, navigating through turbulence. It claims to expedite the process of speaking English fluently and being able to handle all the listed activities. The main Korean copy on the left, in the advertisement, is translated in Excerpt (8). The term ‘kwukcey business’ (‘international business’) is made to stand out by the background colour red. Common loanwords presentation, buyer and business communication are presented in Hangeul, the Korean alphabet.
Excerpt 8
Kwukcey business uy sengkongul wihan Takwelhansentayk!
‘Outstanding choice for successful international business!’
Chwiepcwunpisayng, epmwusang yengelul sayonghanun kiepchey imcikwen, cenmwuncikcong congsaca, kayinsaepca tung kipon epmwu mich cenhwa ungtay, presentation, hayoy cwulcang cwunpi, oykwukbuyer ungtay, hyepsangey ilukikkaci business communication-uy nunglyekul hyanghal swu issupnita
Job applicants, company employees who need English for work, professionals, and business owners can improve their business communication skills in English, including basic skills, phone conversation, presentation, overseas business trip preparation, and business negotiation with foreign buyers.
Several ELT institutes resort to what J.S. Park (2009) terms the ideologies of ‘necessitation’ and ‘self-deprecation’, the former referring to the ideology of viewing ‘English as a valuable and indispensable language’ and the latter viewing ‘Koreans as lacking sufficient competence to use English meaningfully, despite the abundance of English education they receive’ (J.S. Park, 2006, p. 26). I argue that the ideology of self-deprecation is mostly about listening and speaking rather than reading. The commonly known four language skills―listening, reading, speaking and writing―are not equally promoted by South Korean ELT institutes. The impression that grammar translation-oriented teaching is ineffective in producing fluent English speakers has led to a more communicative competence-oriented pedagogical focus. As a simple economic theory of supply and demand predicts, as more students want to work on their conversations skills, more ELT institutes offer conversation classes and tend to concentrate their advertising and marketing efforts on programmes developing English-speaking skills rather than reading and writing. An illustrative example of ‘obsession with speaking’ in Excerpt (9) borrows the structure of a well-known aphorism ‘Seeing is believing’ and creates a company credo stressing the importance of speaking. The fine print at the bottom of this visual image states that this institute, along with English, specializes in Japanese and Chinese; however, the order in which these ‘specialty’ languages are introduced shows the prominence of English being the first on the list.
Excerpt 9
Along with the company logo, there is a short text advertising the institute’s strengths. The institute is posed as a human being offering a friendly greeting at the beginning of the text. It proceeds to commiserate with prospective students who daydreamed how wonderful it would be if they could speak English freely but have failed so far, acting like a concerned friend saying ‘I know what you have been through’. The institute claims to be able to offer solutions to this ‘agony’ because it has gained experience and developed unique know-hows since 1986.
Excerpt 10
안녕하십니까? ANC 어학원¿‘니다. 나도자유∑”∞‘영어를잘«“수있다면얼마나좋을까? 라는 생각을누구나한번쯤은해보æ“을것이며,많은사람들이이같은고민을가지고다양한방법으로노력을해보æ“을것¿‘니다. 1986 년개원한이래오랜기간동안축적된경험과독특한방법(Know-how) 을지닌저희 ANC 어학원은이러한문제를해결해줄수있는학원이라자부«“수있 습니다.
‘How are you? It’s ANC institute. All of you must have thought at least once “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could speak English freely?” Many of you have agonized and tried various methods to achieve that goal. We, ANC, take pride in years of experience and unique know-hows. We believe we can offer solutions to your problem.’
Along with advertisements about programmes and institutes, marketing materials about instructors are worthy of our attention. One recurring theme regarding instructors, in ELT marketing, is valourization of wenemin, which literally means ‘the original language person’ to refer to a native speaker (Lee, 2009).
Excerpt 11
Similar to 75 per cent of the surveyed institutes in Lee (2009), this particular institute advertises ‘native speaker’ instructors as a main attraction, indicating that native speakerdom (Gupta, 1999; Nayar, 1994) is a prevalent theme in Korean ELT marketing materials in web advertising. What it means to be ‘a native speaker’, however, is more than just language ability; it is also closely connected to Western physical traits, particularly ‘white’ ethnocentrism (Lee, 2009). Excerpt (11) is an advertisement about native-speaker instructors; it happens to feature only white teachers. If it were solely about native-language fluency, there would be no reason why non-white instructors, such as Korean-American or African American instructors should not appear in advertisements about the instructional staff.
The Korean text accompanying the pictures in Excerpt (11) is translated below.
Excerpt 12
Native speaker teaching staff (heading)
Native 79 hires only native speakers with teaching certification and several years of teaching experience.
The heading ‘native kyosacin’ (‘native speaker faculty’) and the expression konginkyosacakyekcung (‘teaching certificate’) visually stand out due to their font colours. This institute differentiates itself from other ELT institutes by advertising its rigorous instructor-selection process to carefully screen whether an instructor is a native speaker of English as well as if he or she has a teaching certificate. This particular institute implicitly problematizes a common recruiting practice demanding only a bare minimum requirement of being a native speaker when it comes to hiring non-Korean national English instructors.
All institutes make instructor information available on their homepages, highlighting educational background and employment history. In addition, student testimonials praising instructors are posted online. Teachers’ biographical notes and brief resumes are part of web adverting materials of many ELT institutes in South Korea. English teachers are commonly asked to post so-called self-introductions and greeting messages to students by their employers. This type of information is treated as an important selling point to attract students along with programme-related specifics, including tuition and frequency and duration of instruction. Although native speakers are favoured in teaching speaking skills, Korean nationals who have been partly educated in an English-speaking country are also employed at ELT institutes. However, there are some differences between ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ instructors in terms of how they advertise themselves.
In an advertisement by an ELT institute that takes pride in its highly selective hiring process, native-speaker instructors make their biographical notes available in the following sequence: nationality, education, experience, hobby, teaching philosophy, hanmati (‘one word’ meaning a message), and a scanned copy of their teaching certificate (e.g., TEFL or TESOL certificate). It is noteworthy that their national origin, almost always North American (that is, American or Canadian), is introduced first, suggesting that the native-speaker status is a priority in instructor advertising. The rest of information tends to be about teaching-related qualities, for example, teaching philosophy and writing skills. Excerpts (13) and (14) are two examples of native-speaker instructors’ ‘self-introduction’.
Excerpt 13
Hobbies: Programming software, playing with computers, learning different languages (I can speak little bit of Spanish, Italian and Chinese) and reading books.
Teaching philosophy: I have different teaching methods compared to other teachers. I found that getting students to be more talkative enhances their speaking ability. I try to stay away from the old traditional way of teaching. I try to teach my students in a very innovative way because I want to make learning enjoyable for my students.
Message: I can answer all your English-related questions!
Excerpt 14
Hobbies: Reading books, writing articles and occasionally attending debate seminars.
Teaching philosophy: I have written and witnessed so many things as a writer and as a journalist. Being able to speak English is important and I’m sure I can help our students develop the skills to say what is on their mind more quickly and efficiently. Being a journalist, I have so many things to talk about with our students therefore student’s participation is a must!
Message: I’m sure having so much knowledge as a journalist will definitely be an asset to the students. We can talk about so many things that are currently happening around the world. Let’s make it a blast!
On the other hand, self-introductions posted by Korean nationals tend to focus on personality traits and strengths and do not make direct reference to teaching-related skills. When they want to invite potential students to enrol in a programme, they advertise the strengths of their ELT institutes as an asset, not their own personal qualification or eligibility.
Some of the examples of personality and character traits related promotional materials posted by Korean nationals are presented in Excerpt (15).
Excerpt 15
I am outgoing.
I’m bubbly, energetic, friendly and positive.
I can make friends easily, and I am kind.
I am a positive thinker and open minded. Wherever I go I get along well with others without any problems. I have a good friendship with people and student. I enjoy working, taking on challenges and accepting responsibilities.
Predictably the national origin is not highlighted for Korean teachers of English as this would only draw students’ attention to their teachers’ ‘non-native’ speaker status, which cannot be good for ‘business’. Some Korean teachers adopt English names for professional reasons, especially those who were partly educated in English-speaking countries. However short it may be (e.g., a one-month home stay or a three-month summer course), having lived and learned English overseas is an experience they are eager to mention as part of their qualifications. Korean teachers’ English fluency is indirectly advertised through their English ‘self-introduction’. As evident in some syntactic and pragmatic deviations, their writing does not show ‘native’ proficiency. However, for untrained eyes, in particular novice learners who are not used to reading English text, these Korean teachers’ English can be quite impressive, and as a result students may be convinced that they will be taught by fluent speakers.
Conclusion
Triggered by the increasing use of the Internet, the ‘English learning boom’ (H.Y. Park, 2006) and ‘English fever’ (J.K. Park, 2009) in Korea, web advertising is used as one of the most popular modalities of marketing by Korean ELT institutes to compete in the highly competitive domestic market. An analysis of the randomly-selected 20 web advertising texts reveals that the concept of ‘global’ recurs as the main rationale for why Koreans need to study English. ELT marketing materials draw upon the ideology of self-deprecation (J.S. Park, 2009)—the idea that most Korean learners of English feel inadequate when it comes to English—and capitalize on learner frustration and anxiety regarding conversation skills. They utilize predominant English-language ideologies such as (a) English is necessary for career advancement; (b) English is best learned from native speakers; (c) North American English is the best; (d) Korean teachers speak ‘Konglish’ unless they are extensively educated in the US or Canada; (e) speaking is the area needing the most improvement; and (f) the grammar-translation method is useless. Most institutes in the study promise to help learners acquire ‘authentic’ English by learning from native speakers in an intimate setting, ranging from one-on-one to a small group, which is often marketed as the most effective way of teaching.
The cohabitation of Korean and English in web ELT marketing materials reflects a fairly clear division of labour, Korean conveying information content and English foregrounding mottos and management philosophies of the institutes. Along with a variety of affordable classes, offered at convenient times and locations, catering to busy professionals, many ELT institutes tend to advertise their native-speaker instructional staff as the main ‘selling point’. This study shows that English is used as not only a means of advertising, but also the product itself, performing a dual purpose in ELT web marketing.